Primary education in

PRIMARY EDUCATION IN ENGLAND
England also has a tradition of independent schools (some of which call themselves public schools) and home education: legally, parents may choose to educate their children by any permitted means. State-funded schools may be selective grammar schools or non-selective comprehensive schools (non-selective schools in counties that have grammar schools may be called by other names, such as high schools). Comprehensive schools are further subdivided by funding into free schools, other academies, any remaining Local Authority schools and others. More freedom is given to free schools, including most religious schools, and other academies in terms of curriculum. All are subject to assessment and inspection by Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills).
The state-funded education system is divided into Key Stages based upon age: Early Years Foundation Stage (ages 3–4 by August 31); primary education (ages 5 to 10 by August 31), subdivided into Key Stage 1 (KS1) Infants (ages 5 to 6 by August 31) and Key Stage 2 (KS2) Juniors (ages 7 to 10 by August 31); secondary education (ages 11 to 15 by August 31), subdivided into Key Stage 3 (KS3; ages 11 to 13 by August 31) and Key Stage 4 (KS4; ages 14 to 15 by August 31); Key Stage 5 is post-16 education (ages 16 to 17 by August 31); and tertiary education (for ages 18+).^[10]
At the end of Year 11 (at age 15 or 16, depending on their birthdays) students typically take General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams or other Level 1 or Level 2 qualifications. For students who do not pursue academic qualifications until the end of Year 13, these qualifications are roughly equivalent to the completion of high school in many other countries, or high school graduation in the United States and Canada.
While education is compulsory until 18, schooling is compulsory to 16: thus post-16 education can take a number of forms, and may be academic or vocational. This can involve continued schooling, known as "sixth form" or "college", leading (typically after two years of further study) to A-level qualifications, or a number of alternative Level 3 qualifications such as Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC), the International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge Pre-U, WJEC or Eduqas. It can also include work-based apprenticeships or traineeships, or volunteering.^[11][12]
Higher education often begins with a three-year bachelor's degree. Postgraduate degrees include master's degrees, either taught or by research, and doctoral level research degrees that usually take at least three years. Tuition fees for first degrees in public universities are £9,250 per academic year for English, Welsh and European Union students.^[13]
The Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) covers national school examinations and vocational education qualifications. It is referenced to the European Qualifications Framework, and thus to other qualifications frameworks across the European Union.^[14] The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ), which is tied to the RQF, covers degrees and other qualifications from degree-awarding bodies.^[15] This is referenced to the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area developed under the Bologna process.^[16]
The Programme for International Student Assessment coordinated by the OECD currently ranks the overall knowledge and skills of British 15-year-olds as 13th in the world in reading literacy, mathematics and science, with the average British student scoring 503.7, compared with the OECD average of 493.^[17] In 2011, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) rated 13–14-year-old pupils in England and Wales 10th in the world for maths and 9th for science.^[18]
History of English education
Until 1870 all schools were charitable or private institutions, but in that year the Elementary Education Act 1870 permitted local governments to complement the existing elementary schools in order to fill any gaps. The Education Act 1902 allowed local authorities to create secondary schools. The Education Act 1918 abolished fees for elementary schools.
Women's colleges were established in the 19th century to give women access to university education, the first being Bedford College, London (1849), Girton College, Cambridge (1869) and Newnham College, Cambridge (1871). The University of London established special examinations for women in 1868 and opened its degrees to women in 1878.^[19] University College Bristol (now the University of Bristol) became the first mixed higher education institution on its foundation in 1876,^[20] followed in 1878 by University College London (which had held some mixed classes from 1871).^[21]
Legally compulsory education
Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged 5 to 18, either at school or otherwise, with a child beginning primary education during the school year they turn 5.^[22] Children between the ages of 3 and 5 are entitled to 600 hours per year of optional, state-funded, pre-school education. This can be provided in "playgroups", nurseries, community childcare centres or nursery classes in schools.
The age at which a pupil may choose to stop education is commonly known as the "leaving age" for compulsory education. This age was raised to 18 by the Education and Skills Act 2008; the change took effect in 2013 for 16-year-olds and 2015 for 17-year-olds. From this time, the school leaving age (which remains 16) and the education leaving age (which is now 18) have been separated.^[23] State-provided schooling and sixth-form education are paid for by taxes.
All children in England must currently therefore receive an effective education (at school or otherwise) from the first "prescribed day", which falls on or after their fifth birthday until their 18th birthday, and must remain in school until the last Friday in June of the school year in which they turn 16.^[12][24][25] The education leaving age was raised in 2013 to the year in which they turn 17 and in 2015 to their 18th birthday for those born on, or after, 1 September 1997.^[23] The prescribed days are 31 August, 31 December and 31 March.^[26][27] The school year begins on 1 September (or 1 August if a term starts in August).^[28]
The compulsory stages of education are broken into a Foundation Stage (covering the last part of optional and first part of compulsory education), 4 Key Stages, and post-16 education, sometimes unofficially termed Key Stage Five, which takes a variety of forms, including 6th Form, which covers the last 2 years of Secondary Education in schools.
Stages of compulsory education[edit]
A number of different terms and names exist for the various schools and stages a pupil may go through during the compulsory part of their education. Grammar schools are selective schools, admitting children from 11 years old onward; they are normally state-funded, though fee paying independent grammars do exist. Schools offering nursery (pre-school) education commonly accept pupils from age 3; however, some schools do accept pupils younger than this.